. 2021 Aug 5;60:709–733. doi: 10.1016/j.jmsy.2021.07.023

Table 5.

Role of different technologies and their potential applications in the battle against COVID-19 to fulfill emergency supplies.

Sr. No.	Technology/ Designer	Applications	Materials/ Resources/methods	Features	Ref.
1	Filament-based 3D-printing (Material extrusion)	Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs	Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) filament	(+) Printers & plastics are readily available and inexpensive (printers <800 USD, plastics <30 USD per kg)	[119]
				(+) PETG is a durable & chemically inert
				(+) No deterioration of plastic
2	Copper3D NanoHack, 3D printing	Respiratory face masks	Polylactic Acid (PLA) filament	(+) Open-source	[30,120]
				(-) Non-adjustable
				(-) Manually assembled
3	Prusa, 3D printing	Protective face shields	Transparent plastics	(+) Insertion of flexible shields	[32]
4	Kvatthro-Thingiverse, 3D printing	HEPA mask	Polylactic Acid (PLA) filament	(+) Effective air seal	[33]
4	Kvatthro-Thingiverse, 3D printing	HEPA mask	Polylactic Acid (PLA) filament	(+) Exchangeable for males & females	[33]
5	Materialise, 3D printing	Door handles	Wide range of plastics	(+) No direct skin-to-surface	[121]
5	Materialise, 3D printing	Door handles	Wide range of plastics	(+) Ready to print and accessible	[121]
6	Milan’s Issinova, Selective laser sintering	Valves for oxygen masks,	‒	(+) Excellent quality	[29]
6	Milan’s Issinova, Selective laser sintering	Valves for oxygen masks,	‒	(+) Good performance	[29]
7	School of Pharmacy Queen’s University, FDM printer	Face shields,	Acetate sheet, elastic band, and foam	(+) Open-source availability	[29]
				(+) Close on the forehead
				(+) Safe air ventilation
				(+) Comfortable
8	Artificial Intelligence (Machine learning & deep learning)	Study, diagnose, treat COVID-19, predict the outcome, estimate the mortality risk	CT scans & X-rays	(+) Increases knowledge of COVID	[36]
				(+) Rapid identification
				(+) Detection accuracy & reliability
				(+) Tracking of disease progression
9	Nanomedicine (Chloroquine)	Drug repurposing	Synthetic nano-particles (NP) with immune-modulating and antioxidant molecules	(+) Inhibit virus from entering cells	[36]
				(+) Prevent virus activation
				(+) Inflammation control
				(+) Prevent infection of Vero cells
10	Vaccine technology using proteins, nucleic acids, and recombinant viral vectors	Persuades a neutralizing immune response against COVID infection	Naked viral DNA, mRNA, SARS-CoV-2 S protein genes	(+) Enables the development of COVID-19 vaccine within a few months	[36,122]
11	Mathematical Modeling (equations used to mimic reality that can be refined to discover knowledge of the virus)	Predict COVID-19 transmission rate, public policy decision-making process	Stochastic individual based model, Susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered models, and Susceptible-infected-recovered models	(+) Prevent further spread of the infectious disease	[36]
11				(+) explains the spread of virus in a better way	[36]
12	Big Data	Prevent COVID-19, disease tracing & screening	Uses past 14-day travel history & NHIA identification card data for screening	(+) Rapid real-time evaluations	[36]
13	Internet of Things	Trace pandemic origins and ensures effective quarantine	Sensors incorporated in robots, mobile phones, and drones	(+) Online health consultations	[36]
13	Internet of Things	Trace pandemic origins and ensures effective quarantine	Sensors incorporated in robots, mobile phones, and drones	(+) Better allocation of supplies	[36]
14	Telemedicine	Provides medical care for patients at home, annual follow-ups and mental health services	Online healthcare services, remote training platforms	(+) Provides symptoms & prevention info to all patients	[36]
14	Telemedicine		Online healthcare services, remote training platforms	(+) Decreases number of hospital visits	[36]
15	Robotics	Surgery, disinfection, navigation, swab testing, distribute medical supplies	Unmanned aerial vehicles, drones	(+) Reduced patient hospital stay	[123,124]
				(+) Increased hospital capacity
				(+) Reduced exposure to infection
16	Duke university medical center, Formlabs printers	Personal protective equipment	AAMI class 3 & 4materials	(+) Significantly high protection against pathogens	[125]
17	Formlabs 3D printing	Auxetic nasopharyngeal swabs for detection and sample collection	Meta-biomaterials, photopolymer FLSGAM01	(+) Reduce patient pain and discomfort	[35]
17	Formlabs 3D printing		Meta-biomaterials, photopolymer FLSGAM01	(+) Biocompatible material	[35]
18	Isinnova, 3D printing	Bio-cellular face shields, respirator valve prototype	Bio-macromolecules polymerized polyvinyl chloride	(+) Comfortability	[34]
18	Isinnova, 3D printing	Bio-cellular face shields, respirator valve prototype	Bio-macromolecules polymerized polyvinyl chloride	(+) Efficient production	[34]
19	Fused filament fabrication	Face shields and face masks	FDM compatible filaments	(+) Fulfill supply chain shortages	[126]
19	Fused filament fabrication	Face shields and face masks	FDM compatible filaments	(+) Tracking and evaluation of product category	[126]
20	Polyjet J735 and J750 printers, Stratasys	Fixed hand-free door openers, door hooks and button pushers	Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), VeroWhite, VeroBlue resins	(+) Retractable sheath	[31]
20	Polyjet J735 and J750 printers, Stratasys	Fixed hand-free door openers, door hooks and button pushers		(+) Large array of devices with different geometries	[31]